


Gentle touch

by Kimmy



Series: Bad Things Happen Bingo [7]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Bad Things Happen Bingo, Bad Touch, Basically mundie AU where eveerything but Shadowhunters exist, Hurt Jace Wayland, Jace Wayland Feels, Jace Wayland Needs A Hug, M/M, Secrets, Tumblr Prompt, Vampires, Warlocks, Wingfic, except it's not
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-24
Updated: 2018-07-24
Packaged: 2019-06-15 19:02:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,755
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15419532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kimmy/pseuds/Kimmy
Summary: Valentine's hands feel wrong, his touch alien, and Jace finds himself longing for Raphael's touch instead, even if he knows it's not possible... not until he tells him the truth, if he lives until then.Bad Things Happen Bingo, square: Strapped to an operating table, pairing: Jace/Raphael.





	Gentle touch

**Author's Note:**

> Writen as part of Bad Things Happen Bingo over on tumblr, which you can find there at @badthingshappenbingo and me at @kimmycup. *quietly drops the daily updates info*

“Wanna go to the pool with me tomorrow?”

Raphael looked at Jace from where his head was bent over a book, pen in hand but not really making any notes or reading. He eyed the book for a moment before giving up on studying, pushing it all aside and focusing on his boyfriend.

“I’d love to, but I’m busy all day. I heard there’s a special price ticket for a midnight swim, though?”

Jace smiled, trying to hide his disappointment. Raphael never went out with him during the day. He wasn’t sure if he ever saw his boyfriend in the sunlight. At first, he had thought Raphael was ashamed of him, but then Raphael had introduced him to his friends, and Jace felt a little bit more at peace with their relationship. Leaning in for a kiss on the cheek, he smiled at the other boy.

“Sure. Midnight swim sounds romantic.” He teased, and Raphael rolled his eyes at him. 

Jace didn’t mind Raphael having his secrets. Not when Jace himself had enough of his own. He stayed over for a little while longer, latching onto the chance for some of Raphael’s famous tamales, but eventually had to kiss him goodbye, before the sunrise caught him, considering he actually had classes at noon.

He left the familiar dorm building with a small smile on his face, entering the vast, warm darkness of a summer night, inhaling the fresh air. He allowed his feet to carry him through the park, relishing in how calm the world looked without anyone around. 

He felt something sharp sting him in the neck, hand moving to find the guilty insect. He remembered nothing after that.

***

Jace woke up to the realization every part of his body ached, quickly followed by the terrifying awareness of what  _ every  _ part of his body meant.

His wings were out.

He struggled to move, trying to assess what was wrong, and promptly noticed he was strapped to an operating table, face down in a massage-style cradle, only definitely less relaxing with nothing but the worryingly bloodied floor in his line of view, hands stretched forward and held by leather straps at his wrists and elbows, his ankles, knees and lower back similarly restrained, leaving his wings outstretched and vulnerable. 

He felt a strange tug at them too, keeping him from closing them and causing pain every time he tried. This did not bode well.

Whoever had taken him, if they had known about his wings, that meant they must have been incredibly dangerous. And Jace had a sinking suspicion of who exactly they were.

“Jonathan, my son.”

Jace was fully aware that struggle was futile in the compromised position he was in, tightly restrained and exposed but the very voice still made him instinctively flinch and look for a way to flee.

“Dad.” He hissed through his teeth, unable to keep the venom out of his voice.

“It’s been a while since we got to see each other.”

“Funny, I didn’t miss you.” Jace kept pushing at the straps holding him down, knowing he would only draw blood but too overwhelmed by sheer panic. “I sincerely hope this time when I get to see you die it’s for real.”

Jace felt a cold hand find its way into his wings and he felt his whole body shiver violently against his will, trying to move away from the unkindly touch. Valentine’s fingers just dug deeper into the wing, tightly closing around the feathers, making Jace bite back a whimper, suddenly happy his face was out of view.

“Such beauty… wasted. Truly a shame.” Jace’s wings twitched, causing Valentine to just yank harder, plucking a few feathers out. “Still, you were a largely successful experiment. I shouldn’t have thrown you out. You failed but I may still try and make some use of them.”

Jace tensed again, praying if he tried hard enough, his bonds would just magically disappear and he would wake up safe, in his bed, at home, with Raphael. 

“ _ They _ \--” He spit out, hating the way Valentine made him feel objectified. “--are a part of me. And I’m not going to let you play with me like you always did this time.”

Valentine laughed, his grip relaxing, hand casually flowing through Jace’s feather, the touch making Jace want to vomit. Then Valentine’s hand stilled and gripped his wing tight, right where the bone was, twisting to the point it felt like burning agony, on the verge of breaking. Jace felt tears of pain prickle at his eyes as hot breath suddenly appeared near his ear.

“ _ Let _ me? It’s sweet you think you are capable of doing anything but screaming right now. But don’t worry. I will fix you. I will find a way to make them work. I will pull them apart to find out every detail about the way they function and then I will take them for myself.”

Heavy silence suddenly rang loud in his ears as the hand disappeared, only uncomfortable tingling and painful unawareness left.

“I no longer need you attached to them.”

Jace felt his heart skip a beat, Valentine’s heavy footsteps suddenly retreating, followed by the deafening sound of the door closing. He could feel helplessness smothering him, uselessly tugging at the bonds.

Praying for Alec to help him, he allowed himself to be afraid.

***

“I need your help.”

Raphael stared, surprised, at his boyfriend’s brother in his doorway. Alec Lightwood looked definitely formidable in his black leather jacket, cargo pants, and… was that a bow on his back? Raphael’s eyes widened slightly. What was going on here?

“What the hell are you doing? I kind of have a date with Jace in an hour so I’m not sure--”

“--Jace got kidnapped.”

If it were possible, Raphael would have felt his heart stop.

“...What?”

“He never came home last night. I realized when I was trying to come over this afternoon. I tried calling him but his wasn’t answering his phone. I called Simon and he never turned up to class. I have… reasons to believe something happened. I would take Izzy or my own boyfriend but they are both unfortunately unavailable and Clary’s useless so… Jace trusts you, I’m ready to trust you too.”

Alec eyed him up and down in a way that made Raphael frown.

“And you seem… well, less useless. Can you fight?”

Raphael raised his eyebrows, wondering what the actual fuck Jace had gotten himself into. He was a trouble magnet, but this seemed more serious. Alec continued, blunt as ever, before Raphael could answer.

“Can I trust you? Are you ready to fight for Jace, no matter how you may find him?”

Raphael didn’t hesitate, already grabbing his jacket.

“In a heartbeat.”

***

Valentine didn’t return alone. There were people with him, several men, all in white shoes and greenish pants that made Jace think of doctors, except they probably did everything  _ but _ help people. 

Neither of them said anything and the silence was worse than any verbal promises of pain. Jace had never really known how much he relied on seeing until suddenly he found himself in this situation, feeling more helpless than if he was blindfolded.

He was at war with himself, telling himself to stay calm, to not move, whilst every cell in his body seemed to shiver with fearful anticipation. 

Every step, every shoe that appeared in his line of view, every rustle of fabric and clinking of metal made him imagine things, his body suddenly hyper aware of the temperature and movement of air in the room. 

He was torn between closing his eyes, as if the darkness could somehow comfort or protect him, a childish instinct, and between keeping his eyes open, just so he could catch a sliver of something that would help him. 

Something metal clinked softly, but still overly loud on the tiles right under Jace’s face and with widening eyes and growing terror he realized what it was just as a gloved hand retrieved it off the floor.

“Wait, what the fuck was that?” He started to reflexively struggle in his bindings as reality sunk in. “That looked like a syringe. And it was fucking huge. What the fuck was-”

He tripped over his own words as the table he was lying on suddenly moved, bringing him up, giving him view over part of the room - operation room- he was in, although limited at an angle as he was. 

The tools and bloody stains in sight did nothing to help calm him down and neither did Valentine appearing in front of him. Years of experience suddenly kicking in again, Jace steeled his face to not show one emotion in front of the man.

“Fascinating thing, bone marrow.” 

Jace’s wing jerked instinctively, remembering all too well the descriptions of a procedure he had read at university. Valentine caressed his cheek in mock gentleness, making Jace’s insides twist in a neausating way while someone grabbed his wing, forcefully stretching it and trapping it in the crushing hold of something that locked it in place.

“The thing about birds, you see, is that they don’t have bone marrow. Not like humans. But you, you are a failure… Too human. Your bones are full and heavy and  _ useless. _ ”

Valentine spat the last word out, his hand slapping Jace’s face as it left, the strap holding his head in place making it unable to flinch away. Valentine moved his hand to Jace’s wing and once again Jace felt violated, hurt,  _ dirty _ , just praying for the hand to disappear.

“I need to know why you can’t fly.”

Valentine plucked out a fistful of feathers as Jace whimpered in pain but he was quickly distracted by an even worse horror as something huge invaded his wing, biting its way between feathers into the bone, making Jace’s whole body explode with pain. It was a burning, unnatural kind of feeling, sucking and overwhelming and numbing, making him feel like he would pass out from pain. 

Another needle bit into his other wing and he could feel silent tears roll down his cheeks. Everything was blurry…

***

Wings. 

White, dusted with gold and speckled with bright red blood. Mangled, broken, and dirty but still majestic, breathtaking,  _ beautiful _ like the man himself.

Raphael didn’t take time to process that information. He didn’t hesitate to rip Valentine’s throat out the moment he saw the man. Between him and Alec’s exceptional skill with a bow, the room was soon littered with dead bodies, the other man already freeing Jace’s wings by the time Raphael was done serving justice. 

Soft sobs wreaked through the golden boy’s body as Alec was gently getting rid of the straps, one by one, revealing angry red welts where the leather bit into body as Jace struggled. Raphael wished he could kill Valentine again.

He gently approached his boyfriend and helped Alec ease him off the table, smoothing the soft fringe from half-open eyes.

“It’s alright. It’s alright, Jace. Can you walk?”

Alec’s voice registered with Raphael, Jace mumbling something akin to confirmation, his legs clearly not getting the message.

“We should hurry out. We don’t know who else may be coming.”

“He’s heavy. You’ll have to help me carry him.”

“If I may…” Raphael swallowed, fully aware he didn’t want to anger Alec Lightwood. “I can bite him. You saw I’m a vampire. If I bite him, the venom will give him some strength until we reach the car, and it should work like a temporary anesthesia, dulling his pain. It will help.”

Alec eyed him suspiciously but seemed to carefully consider it before nodding. He kept his eyes trained on Raphael as he had chosen a spot on Jace’s back close enough to the wings so it would be most effective.

Inhaling softly, focusing on his task, Raphael bit in, careful to not get lost in the sweet taste… God, how did Jace taste so good? He really shouldn’t be thinking about that. Tearing himself away before Alec put an arrow through his head, Raphael was happy to see that Jace seemed stunned, but a bit more aware, a bit less in agony.

“You’re a vampire… That’s why… midnight swim...”

It must have sounded like gibberish to any outsider, but it brought a weak smile to Raphael’s face as he put himself under Jace’s other wing, helping Alec carry him.

“I am. And you’re my angel. But we have to get you fixed first before we can resume our date.”

***

“Raph… I am hurting. Everywhere.”

Jace mumbled the words, eyes closed, not even checking if it was indeed his boyfriend by his side.

“I’m not surprised, unfortunately. Sorry to say so, but you will probably hurt for another few days. Magnus was here and he healed you -- apparently Magnus is a warlock? I feel like there is quite a lot I missed about our friends.”

“Mhmm. Yeah, that. My wings feel like lead.”

“Valentine tried to take your marrow for examination, without anesthesia, and he ruffled your feathers quite a bit. Magnus says you’re grounded for the next few weeks. As in, literally?”

“Yeah…” Jace yawned and forced himself to open one eye, smiling at Raphael’s raised eyebrow. “Valentine tried to figure out why I can’t fly. I can fly.”

He chuckled softly at the absolute lack of understanding on Raphael’s face.

“I couldn’t fly until I was maybe fifteen… So at ten, Valentine threw me out like trash.”

He tried to keep the smile but it turned bitter and forced. Raphael’s expression softened, his fingers running softly through Jace’s feathers, the feeling pleasant and warm, so unlike Valentine’s touch.

“All your stories…”

“Were true, just didn’t mention, well, the wings. Hmmm…. You’re not freaking out about the wings. That’s nice. I can  _ definitely _ get used to you grooming them.”

“I already knew you’re my angel, I just have proof now.” Raphael ignored Jace’s blush, focusing on the wings. “Besides, did you miss the part where I’m a vampire? You seemed pretty aware when you noticed it. Alec definitely didn’t miss it.”

Jace laughed at Raphael’s tone.

“You survived Alec’s shovel talk! That’s something. Half of Izzy’s boyfriends fled before he could start.”

“I think killing Valentine earned me some points with him.”

“Yeah, probably… That’s cool. Anyways, vampire. I was conscious for that. Midnight swim. Can we go for a swim in the day now, though?”

Raphael’s hand stilled in his feathers.

“Jace, angelito, we just established I’m a vampire. Should I get Magnus? Are you still not feeling well?”

“No, you idiot. I’m… My blood, it-- I can make vampires walk in the daylight. We found out through Simon.”

The flabbergasted, slightly disgusted expression on Raphael’s face made Jace finally genuinely laugh out loud.

“Simon’s a vampire?”

***

“Are you sure…?”

“Hey.” Jace smiled at Raphael, watching his boyfriend anxiously eye the gloomy landscape basked in the almost darkness that came just before dawn. “I’m sure. Do you trust me?”

“Of course I do. And it worked already so just… I don’t know why I’m so anxious.”

Jace smiled, thinking about the way Raphael cried after he tried walking into the church and could finally safely pray within its walls. But they still hadn’t tried the sun. And Jace had found the perfect way for Raphael to see sunlight again for the first time in years. 

“Come on.”

He watched Raphael nod and, while still unsure, allow Jace to strap him into the harness the blonde had already put on. Jace could feel his boyfriend shaking slightly, probably half from the cold and half from the anxiety.

He wrapped his arms around Raphael, calming him. They had talked about it. This wasn’t something Jace would make a surprise without making sure Raphael was fine with heights and all parts of the plan. 

“Ready?” He whispered above the rustle of the wind and he was glad to see Raphael smile.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”

“Then let’s fly into the sun.”

Jace grinned, unfolding his wings and relishing in the wind beneath them as he took off. Raphael screamed and clung a bit harder before relaxing, both of them soaring up the hill until finally, they reached open sky, just in time for the sunrise to peek out from under the horizon.

Hearing Raphael’s tiny gasp, feeling his beating heart under his hand and burying his face in his hair as they soared, in that moment Jace felt true happiness, finally free from all the curses of their past.


End file.
